Oprah to host Tonys?

The Tonys producers would kill to have her. She would bring an enormous audience with her to the telecast (watching from their homes, that is). My mother-in-law, who "let" us use her TV for a Tony party a few years ago and ignored the whole telecast, musical numbers and all, would wait with baited breath if Oprah was hosting. You can bet the farm that the Tonys producers are courting her. The only question is whether she wants to do it or not, and I'd bet a lot of that will have to do with how her pet project is treated in the next couple of months, including how the Tony committee chooses to nominate it.

Riedel's article, in part:

"THE critics have put Oprah's much- touted media power to the test, and so far it seems to be holding up.
"The Color Purple" — or, as the ads and marquee have it, "Oprah Winfrey's The Color Purple" (it used to be Alice Walker's, but she doesn't sell tickets) — opened Thursday to the kind of tepid reviews that would normally sink a $10 million musical.

But the mighty Oprah innoculated the show against the critics with her appearance on David Letterman (giving him his best ratings in a decade) and a star-studded opening-night bash that generated mountains of positive publicity.

As a result, "The Color Purple" sold more than $350,000 worth of tickets at the box office Friday, another $300,000 on Saturday and about $270,000 on Sunday.

These are not the kinds of numbers that a critically acclaimed blockbuster would post — for comparison's sake, "The Producers" took in over $1 million the day it opened to rave reviews — but they're impressive for a show critics described as "cartoonish," "unsophisticated," "clichéd" and a "watercolor blur." (The Post's Clive Barnes was kinder, praising its "glowing performances.")

Winfrey, who invested $1 million in the musical, attended an ad meeting Friday morning, and told her fellow producers that she would continue to tout the musical on her television show, in her magazine and in interviews.

So while there's some grumbling about the negative reviews, people involved in "The Color Purple" are upbeat about its long-term prospects.

Already, her support for the show has driven its advance ticket sale to $13 million.

A couple of weeks ago, she featured an excerpt from the musical on her TV show, and sold $1 million worth of tickets overnight. Another musical number will be broadcast on the show this Friday.

An analysis of the ZIP codes of the people buying tickets to the show reveals that most of them are from outside New York City, a clear indication that Winfrey is almost single-handedly driving sales.
_______________________________________________________________


The show's producers may have another card up their sleeves as well:

There's a lot of talk on Broadway this week that Winfrey will be asked to host this year's Tony Award telecast.

If she accepts, you can bet "The Color Purple" will be showered with nominations and will have a choice spot on the telecast."

---

That's what I thought, Margo. Thanks for clarifying.

Really need to get to this but can't seem to find the time.

---

I am sure that they would have to secure her long before the nominations come out. So she really can't wait and see if the show is honored before she agrees to host.

---

As long as it isn't Hugh Jackman, I'll be happy.

Of course Nathan will have a pretty high profile about that time if The Producers is a hit.

---

They could put a sofa onstage and she could just talk to the winners instead of them giving an acceptance speech. She could even say, "and now my next guest . . . the cast of Sweeney Todd with a number from their show . . . " Then she could turn and act interested as they perform.

---

I hope Oprah doesn't host the show.

I am sure she would pull in the ratings but I would rather have it be someone more associated with the Broadway community.

If the Producers movie does well, the logical choice would be Nathan and Matthew as co-hosts.

Again? It's the 60th anniversary, hopefully they'll come up with something original.

---

If she does, no matter what new musicals open this year, TCP will have multiple awards in the bag and most definitely will win Best Musical

"Please don't let her host. She sing along with everything. And no one will be allowed to chew gum."

LOL, I agree. I think she was fine in The Color Purple--I don't watch her show. The only good thing would be that since she can't dance, sing or do comedy maybe it would leave more time for performances from the shows.

---